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I'm planning a rather special holiday next year. Currently I own a Fuji Finepix HS50 EXR, which I will have had for 4½ years by then.

I'm worried it may break down in the middle of the trip... is that considered 'old'?

Was in a camera shop yesterday, and they recommended the Panasonic FZ82 - is this any good for bird photography do you think?

The other one he suggested was the FZ330, but he didn't have one in stock to show me.

Or are there better options you know about?

Currently, I have two programme modes set on the Fuji. The main one I use is Sports Mode; the other one is set for Landscapes. I also have the camera set to shoot on continuous (or burst it may be known as by some). This does seem to be getting slow writing to the card lately.

Your thoughts would be very welcome. Though I'm probably not looking to buy until about June next year, which would give me a few months to get used to it.

__________________In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed

More zoom on the FZ82 but the FZ330 have a brighter zoom (constant aperture at f2.8).
A large aperture is beneficial as small sensors are noisy above ISO 100.
FZ330 is weather sealed, at least to some extent, and have more features.

Personally I think the FZ330/FZ300 is the best choice, but the FZ82 is cheaper.

It's probably the best bridge camera out there but much more expensive than the Panny, though it's top end like you're used to with the Fuji, but with the benefits of a 1" sensor and superb quality Zeiss lens. (There may even be a Mk V version? out by the time you're ready ....) .

Fantastic quality and performance once it's going - I know someone who upgraded from the III to IV version and is very happy. Like all bridge cameras it still has that (for me, annoying) start up and zoom sequence delay, but you're probably used to that and have developed ways to minimize lost opportunities.

For the money, there are others on here (Hermann in particular! :) that swear by the now discontinued Nikon 1 system ....

Others will point you to a MFT system, but the $ are getting up there then, and compromises still exist.

And ..... a birding specific long range camera. A 24MP APS-C Nikon D7200 DSLR (I use this with the Tammy 150-600 G2) with the revolutionary new lightweight Nikon PF 500 f5.6 lens ..... this will be just under 5lbs weight all up, but very well balanced and ergonomic - you could easily carry it all day on a sling. Oh, and it's about 4500USD total.
It's only money and you only live once ! :)
Haha - you'll get a chuckle out of this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QTIWjR2GpFo

The other one he suggested was the FZ330, but he didn't have one in stock to show me.

Or are there better options you know about?

You might want to consider the FZ1000. If you're ready to accept the greater weight and size, it offers better picture quality thanks to its bigger sensor, and it also has a quick autofocus that really helps to capture birds.

My girlfriend has the small-sensor FZ200, which I believe is a direct predecessor to the FZ330, and the FZ1000 usually delivers much better pictures in the same situation.

Not to say my girlfriend doesn't love the FZ200 for its compactness ... it aways depends on your personal priorities which camera is the best for you!

I'm planning a rather special holiday next year. Currently I own a Fuji Finepix HS50 EXR, which I will have had for 4½ years by then.

I'm worried it may break down in the middle of the trip... is that considered 'old'?

Was in a camera shop yesterday, and they recommended the Panasonic FZ82 - is this any good for bird photography do you think?

The other one he suggested was the FZ330, but he didn't have one in stock to show me.

Or are there better options you know about?

Currently, I have two programme modes set on the Fuji. The main one I use is Sports Mode; the other one is set for Landscapes. I also have the camera set to shoot on continuous (or burst it may be known as by some). This does seem to be getting slow writing to the card lately.

Your thoughts would be very welcome. Though I'm probably not looking to buy until about June next year, which would give me a few months to get used to it.

I don't think that's too old, but if you're seeing a noticeable drop in speed then that could be a warning sign and it may be time for something new. Have you tried different cards to see if the speed's any different?

I used to own an FZ200, which is the same lens and sensor as the FZ330. It was okay, but I always wanted more reach. 600mm equivalent focal length seems like it'd do the job, but in reality the birds were usually pretty small in the frame and those 12mp files don't handle cropping very well. I think the FZ82 would be a better choice for birds despite the smaller aperture at the long end.

Other options...

If you can find one, the Fuji Finepix S1 is nice. It's the most recent superzoom Fuji made but I think it's discontinued now. I know someone who has one and her bird pictures come out pretty nice.

Another interesting choice would be the Nikon P900.

But if you like to take videos, the FZ82 is probably the best option since it can record in 4k.

What's your budget D? I follow someone on Twitter who's got that Sony CJ mentioned. His results are tremendous and he openly says he's a birder first and foremost. It's c3 times the cost of the FZ82/300 though.

Yeah.... weight is very much the issue for me, as I have arthritis in my spine and left hand. I was worried about getting a camera with a zoom less than 50, as I think I'll miss the reach I've got used to with the Fuji.

The Fuji also has a sun shield, which I don't think either of the two I've mentioned have. Would that be an issue (I'm actually planning on Australia in their Spring)?

I'm a birder first, and rather struggle with the technicalities of photography, which is why I generally use 'programme modes' (don't tell everyone that though please)

Seems I've a few to look into, so I'll get busy. Oh and budget..... hmmmm.... under £500 I think really. The flights are gonna cost enough LOL

__________________In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed

Hi Delia, I have the Panasonic FZ72 which is probably the same camera as the 82. I find it great for birding, having an optical zoom of 60x which is, in effect 25-1200 in 35mm terms.

It isn’t magnificent at full zoom and, even though it has image stabilisation, I use it on a monopod for stability (and portability) but it will take images that you can expand if you are pushing for an identification.

At short to middle zoom it takes great pictures.

I tend to have it set to 400 ISO to get the best compromise between exposure and detail. It has an idiot mode that will push zoom up into the digital of around 100x but I don’t use and prefer to use Program mode which limits the zoom to its optical limit. Burst shooting is around 5fps, annoyingly it stores each burst in its own folder on the SD card which makes for fiddly reviewing and collation.

I’ve put a Hoya UV filter on it, as I do with all my cameras, (52mm, if memory serves). Didn’t put a lens hood on this camera, as I usually do, as the one I bought was causing vignetting.

All in all it’s a great camera for the money. I’d like an Eos with a 500mm lens but the portability is limited and the lens is 6 grand so I’ll stick with the Lumix.

Delia, to give you an idea of size - this is the Nikon 1 V3 with 70-300 CX lens (189-810eq), with 10-30 lens (27-81eq) , compared to the Sony RX-10 IV , and your Fuji .... all pretty similar sizes, but the Nikon 1 V3 and Sony RX-10 IV have larger 1" sensors (with the Sony being the later design - see the pics in the links in my initial post). https://camerasize.com/compact/#405,...7,544.688,da,t

As Jim said, the Nikon could also take DX or FX lenses by adapter. If you have a small win on lotto you might consider putting the 300PF f4 on it :)

The lens is 70-300mm; on a Nikon 1 camera body that translates to roughly 200-800mm. This would give you much better image quality than the FZ82 and your HS50EXR. The downside is you'd have to change lenses to shoot normal wide-angle landscapes.

The lens is 70-300mm; on a Nikon 1 camera body that translates to roughly 200-800mm. This would give you much better image quality than the FZ82 and your HS50EXR. The downside is you'd have to change lenses to shoot normal wide-angle landscapes.

Thanks for providing more detail Coopershawk! The pricing on excellent condition Nikon 1 cameras are attractive and add in their fast focus and helped by high numbers of focus points, it's a great lens for birding and general photo use.
While I really like my Kodak Pixpro AZ901 (90x optical zoom) and the AZ652 (65X zoom), the image quality is not up to the Nikon 1. Where the big zoom cameras from Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Kodak, etc. excel is at their 1,200mm on up range. Nikon just released the P1000 with 3,000mm reach and Kodak Pixpro just announced their AZ1000 with 103X zoom..crazy reach, but again, the IQ while good, it's a step down from the larger sensor cameras. Both are great to carry. I have a D3400 and D7200, and when shooting bird/waterfowl and wildlife, I carry my smaller D3400 and one of my Kodaks for the long reach shots.

And speaking of hawks (maybe a redtail?), here's one from yesterday that landed close to us at a nature preserve after a rain storm to dry his wings. The Blue Heron was shot off my kayak while drifting which is testament to the Kodak's very good image stabilization. See at: www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/